> > I always advocate Intel retail desktop boards because of their > unsurpassed > stability and reliability, along with memory models that Intel certify > themselves and publish as compatible for the particular desktop board. > > But alas, their sole P35 board released so far does not have DDR3 > support > (wtf? unforgivably LAME!) Last brand I used before I went strictly > Intel was > Asus, but they are not so hot these days are they?
I would argue that with current product offerings, DDR3 itself is lame. I see no reason to go for DDR3 at this point, given the high cost and marginal--if any--performance boost at current frequencies and timings. While you are indeed correct in that Intel boards have legendary stability, they do have other issues...including bland feature sets, and they serve as a platform to push Intel's own agenda. The Intel P35 boards I've looked at lack any PATA, PS2, serial, and parallel ports. For some usage scenarios, it isn't yet possible to rid a board of all legacy components. > > Forget Antec. Get a Seasonic S12, S12 plus, or S12 II. I can never > praise > this brand enough. Very quiet yate-loon 120mm fans and has 80+ > certification > for efficiency - which means you dont need as much wattage as you > normally > would from a less efficient PS. A 500w is more than enough. > > As I stated in a previous post, SeaSonic gets my vote as well. But I'm not sure where you're coming from with your implication that efficiency has anything to do with output. Power supply capacities are rated on OUTPUT, not input, so a 60% 500W power supply is going to deliver the exact same output as an 85% 500W power supply--it will just do so wasting 25% less energy. You see the same thing in HVAC equipment...a 10 SEER 5 ton unit provides the exact same cooling capacity as a 16 SEER 5 ton unit. Efficiency should not be considered as having any relationship with the ability to do work. Greg
